Massage from a Chiropractor Can Ease Chronic Pain in Tampa FL Patients

A study has shown that chiropractic massage from a professional chiropractor can provide pain relief even for chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain. This should be explored by residents of Ybor City, Tampa FL who are suffering from such long term pain.

Dan Hasson, Bengt Arentz, Lena Jelveus and Bo Edelstam, all members of the staff of the Uppsala University Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences in Sweden, conducted a study titled “A Randomized Clinical Trial of the Treatment Effects of Massage Compared to Relaxation Tape Recordings on Diffuse Long-Term Pain.” Their findings were first published in Vol. 73 of the Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics journal.

According to the study, people with long term diffuse musculoskeletal pain experienced self-rated improvements in muscle pain, mental energy and health after receiving several massage sessions.

The study had 117 participants, all of whom had been suffering from chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain for a minimum of the last three months. The requirement was that such pain had not been diagnosed as having been caused by an identified condition or disease.

The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group was the massage group while the second group was the relaxation group.

The participants in the massage group were given from six to ten massage sessions each, with an average of seven massage sessions per person. These were scheduled from once a week to three times a week. Every session lasted for half an hour and was adjusted according to each participant’s specific pain threshold. A single massage therapist gave all the massage sessions for every participant.

The participants in the relaxation group were made to listen to a relaxation instruction tape two times a week for five weeks. The tape directed them to tense and relax each of their muscle groups while breathing slowly and regularly.

Before the study began, participants were asked to fill up questionnaires on age, gender, marital status, smoking habits,
country of birth and profession. They were also asked to assess themselves before the study, immediately after the study and three months after the study using a self-rated health questionnaire and rating scales for muscle pain and mental energy.

The findings of the study showed that participants in the massage group experienced a significant improvement in muscle pain, mental energy and health as evidenced by their self ratings. In contrast, participants in the relaxation group had none.

According to the researchers, Dan Hasson, Bengt Arentz, Lena Jelveus and Bo Edelstam, massage was significantly more effective during treatment for all three outcome measures even after controlling for other possible factors. They did point out, however, that that the improvements did not persist through time after the treatments had ended. In the assessment done three months after the end of the study, all scores had returned to their original levels. The researchers said,  “This lack of long-term benefits could be due to the short treatment period or treatments such as these do not address the underlying causes of pain. Future studies of long-term pain should include longer treatment periods and post-treatment follow-up."

A chiropractic massage session given by a professional chiropractor is your best bet in achieving the same results. Extending the period of regular chiropractic massage treatment also increases the possibility of more long term results. After all, similar cases of chronic pain such as neck pain, back pain, sciatica, whiplash and arthritis pain can also be eased by a chiropractor in Ybor City, Tampa FL.

Most cases of whiplash are caused by auto accidents. The neck pain and back pain that results can be mistaken for sciatica or arthritis. Whether it be whiplash or indeed sciatica or arthritis, though, your chiropractor can give you long term pain relief for the chronic pain. You can also ask for sports massage therapy from your chiropractor in Ybor City, Tampa FL for health maintenance.